Innocence
by xXHeaven-SakuXx
Summary: The entire massacre of her household left her as an empty shell. As she watched her home that housed fifteen years of her life burn away, she swore to herself that she will catch the murderers and make them pay. Watch as this broken girl solves the case with the help of eccentric police officers in the midst of numerous heart wrenching deaths.
1. The Beginning of a Chaotic Life

**A/N: This story may take place in the Durarara world, but it focuses on my OCs and their quest for revenge. Izaya Orihara is the only one in Durarara! who actively appears in this story. Also, this fic is very short, six chapters long, including the epilogue (well, the epilogue is very short compared to the other chapters and Chapter 5 even shorter). I might make it longer depending on the response I get because there are many loose knots that I need to tie up... So it will be up to all of you. Without further ado, enjoy! :D**

 **WARNING: Major character death in this story.**

 **Disclaimer:** This story was inspired by the novel series Durarara! written by Ryohgo Narita. I do not own Orihara Izaya, nor the 'Color gangs' stated in my story. They all rightfully belong to the author who wrote this magnificent series. But I do own the OCs and the plot.

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1_**

* * *

The sun was setting and bathing all of Ikebukuro in its golden glow. The street lamps blinked back to life and the traffic rushed down the highway. A young girl was seen coming out of the subway and taking a taxi, heading for the outskirt of the city.

She stepped out of the car and thanked the driver when they arrived at the destination: the entrance of a forest sporting only a single dirt trail leading deep in the woods.

Everything was supposed to be quiet, no one was supposed to be at this place and no one was supposed to be screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, that was what she always thought. Today, it was different. Very different. And if something was out of place, that meant terrible things were happening, something that she couldn't even dream about.

It was total chaos. Fire fighters were running around transporting charred corpses, the siren of the police and the ambulance were wailing so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else. Yet, she wasn't focused on what was happening in front of her, she couldn't even seem to care as people pushed her and yelled at her to get out of the way. Her eyes were only focused on the top of the hill where her home was located but she could only see the raging flames, lashing out at anything that came near it.

Her mind was blank and her hands went numb. She let her body move on its own accord and it ran at full speed towards the dirt trail and up the hill. She pushed anyone and everyone that came in front of her, blocking her way to the place she most wanted to be.

She was gasping for breath on the top of the hill, her hands on her knees and her hair sticking to her face, wet with uncontrollable tears. She could not believe what was happening in front of her. The flames were even more threatening at the top than at the bottom of the woods.

When the fire engine finally arrived, it doused the flames with its water hose and they disappeared little by little.

"You shouldn't be idling around here! It's dangerous so go back to where you came from!" The fireman pulled her back from the scene but stopped when he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You're…"

She did not hear the end of his sentence. All the stress that arose from the disastrous evening came crashing down on her all at once and she succumbed into darkness.

* * *

It was dark. There was no light penetrating the abyss she was in. Seconds, minutes and hours passed by, not caring at all if she spent an eternity in this dark, cold place.

But she knew that she had other things to do, something more important than spending the rest of her life in this void. She had an obligation to complete, something that only she could do. With that in her mind, she succumbed into the land of living once again.

* * *

When the young girl woke up, the sun was glaring at her eyes. She squinted and shielded them with her tired arm that screamed in protest at such an action. She then coughed once and realized that her throat was dry and parched.

The high school student looked around the white room, searching for a cup of water. Her eyes landed on the night stand beside the bed and she stretched out her arm for the jug, hoping that it was water.

The black haired girl reached out as far as her frail limb could allow, but it was still too short to grab it. She gave up and returned her arm to her side. She was too tired to lift herself up, so she decided to wait for a someone to come in.

She gazed around herself, the room was devoid of any furnitures except for the bed, the nightstand and a simple closet. She felt a dull pain on her right arm and looked at it, an IV drip was inserted in it so she guessed that she was in a hospital room far from the city, probably somewhere near her home.

Her heart squeezed painfully at the memory, she tried hard not to remember the incident just until she found enough courage to face reality. She let out a shaky breath and emptied her mind.

Just when she was about to drift off to sleep once again, there was a knock on the door.

The young girl pried open her eyes and let out a small "Come in."

The door opened and it revealed a tall man in his late twenties wearing a dark trench coat and holding a metal suitcase. His dark black hair was a little bit messy and his eyes were charcoal black. He closed the door and approached her slowly.

He had a cold aura around him and with his tall stature, it made him all the more intimidating. When she looked closely at his face, she realized that despite the stress lines, he was indeed handsome but no one would actually dare to get close to him and fewer people would have enough courage to stare at his face.

"My deepest apologies for the accident. Sasaki Sadako, daughter of the late Sasaki Komura and Sasaki Mikoto," he stated in an emotionless tone as he pulled out a metal stool underneath the bed and sat on it gracefully.

Sadako tried hard to contain her emotions, even if she prepared herself mentally for the loss, it was not any less harder. She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath and steadied herself. How she wished she could have the perfect composure like the man beside her...

He resumed after Sadako calmed down a bit. "My name is Takashima Sousuke. Captain of the Third Division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. My squad and I were assigned the mission of solving this case. Pleased to meet you."

When Sadako said nothing, he continued where he left off. "Currently, the Yakuza named Takame, is the primary suspect behind this incident, the only clue was their emblem painted on the only standing wall of the mansion."

The young girl nodded halfheartedly and stared at the ceiling, and thought of how her mother will scold her if she found her daughter lying down when someone was talking to her, especially when it was a Police Captain.

She saw him opening his metal suitcase from the corner of her eye and pulling out a stack of papers neatly arranged in a file. He put it on the nightstand and stood up, closing his suitcase.

"Six police officers will be here tomorrow morning. They should debrief you on what exactly happened with all the details so expect them to come, no more no less," Captain Takashima explained as he turned his back on Sadako and headed for the door.

"Are they the only ones involved in this case?" the young girl asked quietly at his retreating back, wondering if she should be suspicious of or not.

The taller man stopped with his hand on the door knob, titling his head just a little bit to show her that he was listening.

"Isn't it kind of weird? One police officer should be enough to interrogate one little high school girl for more information and yet why are there only six officers involved in this case? And why not seven or eight? Or even Ikebukuro's entire police station?" Sadako fired question after question, not caring at the least if he did not get all of it.

That seemed to catch his attention as he slowly turned back to finally face her. She shivered in surprise when he had a sinister smile on his face.

"Yes. There are only seven people involved in this case if you would be kind enough to count me in," the Captain replied back bitterly, his sudden bitter voice contrasting with his smile.

Sadako's eyes narrowed in confusion and demanded the Captain to explain himself.

"You will know soon enough. But for now, please do rest. Trust me, you will need it if you're going to talk with those six tomorrow morning," he chuckled in a tired way, his shoulders slumping a little bit.

Sadako then noticed the large bags under his eyes, it seemed that the Captain was having trouble with police matters...

The young girl coughed again and remembered that her throat was extremely dry. She tried to sit up and reach for the jug of water but her body failed on her and she slumped down on the bed.

She groaned in annoyance and tried again but was pushed back down gently by the Police Captain. Glancing at him in surprise, she let herself fall down on the bed. She looked at him as he took the jug of water and poured a glass for her.

He then kindly helped her sit up slowly and handed her the glass as she reached for it. She gulped it down greedily and when she finished it, he would fill it up again and again until her thirst was quenched.

Sadako laid back down on the bed and let out a satisfied sigh, closing her eyes in contentment.

When she reopened her eyes, Sousuke was gone. A frown marred her face, he could at least let her know that he was leaving... Well, she did hold him back, he must have had some urgent things to attend to.

Turning her head to the side, she stared out of the window. Winter was approaching so it was a little cold in the room, not that it bothered her in the least. She slept better in the cold than in the hot anyways.

Her eyelids fluttered shut on its own accord and she found herself drifting off to sleep soon after.

* * *

When Sadako awoke again, night had already fallen. The moon was shining brightly up in the air and illuminated the whole forest surrounding the almost rundown hospital. Her lips quirked up at the sight and she stared at the scene for a long time.

The young high school girl tried to sit up and was pleasantly surprised to find that her body recovered in such a short time. She placed her bare feet on the freezing tile floor and winced when the cold bit at her feet.

Sadako swang her legs back and forth trying to get the blood flowing for and stood up to open the window, bringing her thin blanket with her. She covered herself with it and let in the fresh breeze.

She breathed in and out, feeling the cold wind caressing her face and combing through her long soft hair. She leaned on the window sill and stared down at the forest, trying to see if she could locate where the hospital was situated.

When she was about to give up and just explore the building to search for a map, she saw a place where it was darker and blacker than any part of the forest. Looking at it more closely, she found some familiar spots here and there.

Sadako stared at it, she was quite surprised that her home was so near to this hospital, but she always did wonder what kind of building this was when she stared out of her room's window.

And now she knew that it was just some rundown hospital, used as a precaution to probably keep her safe from Takame if they were going to come back for her life.

As the night was cold, she decided to take the blanket with her on her little 'adventure', not wanting to catch a cold. Her feet started stinging just then, reminding her to find shoes to protect her naked feet.

Sadako approached the closet and opened it but there was nothing inside except for a pair of thin hospital slippers. She frowned at it in annoyance and took it out, it was still better than nothing.

The high school student gave one last backward glance and disappeared out of the hospital room.

* * *

The night was very cold, Sadako shivered while wrapping the blanket more tightly around her. Even if the mansion seemed so close to the hospital before, it was not the case. She had been walking for half an hour, but there was still no sign of burnt wood or anything.

The young girl sighed, wondering if she was lost. Frowning, she looked around herself one more time and shrugged. Oh well, she would come upon her house if she just kept walking straight.

And she was right, bit by bit, there were more burnt woods and ashes. The trees opened up and revealed a clearing filled with black.

Her heart constricted at the sight. The mansion was no more, and in its place was a pile of ashes and debris. She took one step after another and walked slowly towards where her parents' bedroom was situated.

She felt the sting of the cold wind on her cheeks and the acrid scent of burnt wood assaulted her nose. Pieces of broken wood pierced her abused feet but she refused to shed a tear, for it was simply ridiculous to succumb to physical pain.

It felt like an eternity when she finally arrived where she wanted to be. When she lifted her head, her breath hitched. On the only wall that stood in this desolate place was a crude drawing of an eagle spreading its wings. She approached it slowly and realized that the spot of red underneath the painting was in fact the kanji of _eagle_ and _eye._

But there was something strange as if this eagle was drawn with a substance thicker than paint. She moved her head closer to it, wondering what it was. Her face went pale.

 _Blood._

She vomited on the ashy ground and heaved up what little she had eaten a few days ago and let herself fall down beside it. Her cheek was cool against the ground and sweat glistened on her forehead. She closed her eyes and tried to slow down her heartbeat.

Sadako waited a few moments to cool down her raging emotions. She took a deep, shaky breath and sat up, looking around for any corpses. But of course, the police would have taken them away if there were any.

When she was about to give up, a glint in the ground caught her eye. She kneeled down and picked up the object. It was her mother's golden locket that she always had around her neck. Sadako opened it with curiosity but frowned when it didn't budge.

She tried several times and when she finally managed to open it, dark red blood dripped on her hands.

A strangled yell escaped her mouth and she dropped it in horror. A torrent of emotions rushed through her and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Why was this happening to her? Why was fate so cruel as to snatch away all her precious people and turn her life into a living hell?

Why were her parents brutally murdered when they didn't do anything wrong?

"I swear... I swear that I will catch you someday, Takame!" she roared at the night sky in agony, in sorrow, and at the unfairness she was suffering.

Takame. She would definitely make all of them pay.

* * *

The young high school girl opened her eyes slowly with the previous day's little 'night walk' still fresh in her mind. She clenched her fist in silent fury and waited for the police officers to arrive.

Just then, she heard footsteps outside her room and a quiet conversation between a few people. A second later, there was a knock on the door and all voice went quiet.

"Come in," she stated, staring at the ceiling with a blank look.

The door opened with a small click and several police officers came in, each in their respective uniforms.

After seeing them, Sadako straightened up on her bed and erased the last trace of sleep off her face. The black haired girl observed all the police officers present in the room and memorized their face and stature because she will be working with them from this point on.

There were two women and three men, not surprising as men police officers were more common. She was kind of expecting only one woman or none at all. But there was something amiss. Sadako frowned and raked her head for any sign.

 _"Expect six people, no more, no less."_

The Police Captain's words rang inside her head, making her glance at them suspiciously. So she asked them quietly, "The Police Captain said that I should be expecting six people, not five."

They all blinked at her, not expecting her to ask such a question. The tallest woman, who was wearing glasses smiled at Sadako kindly and called out towards the closed door, "Kagura-san, will you come inside for a second please?"

The door opened and a woman's head poked in, "Is there something wrong? Anything I can help you with Lieutenant?" she asked curiously.

"This is our Sergeant, Kagura Yoshiko. She was supposed to guard the room until we were done speaking. Does that answer your question, Sasaki-san?"

Sadako glanced at the woman who stepped inside the room, quite surprised that those two women had higher ranks than the men present in this place. After all, in a squad like this, it was common sense that there was at least a Lieutenant and a Sergeant. When she was about to return her attention to the Lieutenant, the Sergeant's arm caught her eyes.

Sadako stared at it in surprise, it was extremely thin and bent in a curving way. Not only that, she noticed that the woman was very thin in general. But the way she moved and the way she stood screamed the fact that she was a warrior in hand-to-hand combat.

Sadako was staring at the Sergeant in awe when someone cleared their throat.

"Can we introduce ourselves?"

The one who spoke was a young man in his mid-twenties, sporting a tan skin. Probably from all the training he had done under the sun as he was very lean.

Sadako blushed in embarrassment and stuttered out, "O-of course."

"First of all, my name is Yokohama Daisuke. Freshly promoted Corporal. This is my third year as a police officer. Nice to meet you," Daisuke offered Sadako a small smile and backed off so that the others could introduce themselves.

"And I'm Sakaki Kohinata! I know that it sounds girly, but I'm a man alright!" the youngest of all of the police officers in the room declared cheerfully while performing the standard military salute.

"And, in only two years and a half I became a Corporal! It's amazing right?" he boasted with a large grin. "Unlike my sister who idled around five long years before she rose in ranks! If I took as long as her, I would already be a Lieuten-"

"Stop chatting!" the last woman in the room smacked him on the head with the papers she was holding. "And we're not in the military." she added as an afterthought.

"That hurt Onee-san! And why did you interrupt me? I was getting to the better parts!" he whined at his older sister and rubbed his head with a pouting face.

The older of the siblings sighed and faced Sadako, "I'm sorry about that. He can get a little annoying from time to time, but you get used to it after a while..."

"Please take care of us." she bowed a little and straightened up.

"You forgot to introduce yourself Onee-san!" Kohinata whispered discretely into her sister's ear. But coming from him, it was not so 'discreet'.

Kohinata's sister flushed in embarrassment and hushed her brother. She coughed into her hand, "My name is Sakaki Sakura, Kohinata's older sister as you already know... I've been a police officer for five years, as he already stated it, and I was promoted just a few weeks ago."

Sadako smiled bitterly at their little sibling quarrel, she had always wanted a younger brother but that was now impossible. Now she had other things to focus on. Out the corner of her eye, she saw the Lieutenant and Sergeant discussing something.

And finally the police officer who stayed off to the side came closer to the center. He was also around his mid-twenties, he had black hair and black eyes, nothing out of common for a Japanese man. Even though he could be easily missed in a crowd, the atmosphere around him was slightly different than everyone else's.

The image of Takashima Sousuke flashed in her mind.

 _Oh._

Sadako frowned to herself. It was still strange for someone so young to have such a cold and empty aura.

"Takasato Kaname. I've been a police officer for a year and was promoted along with Sakaki-san. We've been asked personally by the Police Captain to handle this case. Pleased to meet you," he finished with his empty voice, bowing a little and retreating to the back of the room.

"As all is said and done, let's begin. Oh and by the way, my name is Hayate Yugito," added the Lieutenant while flipping over the papers she was holding, searching for the right one.

"As you already know, the percentage of this 'accident' being caused by Takame is very high, even if their crest can be done by anyone, it is all known in the police that Takame had a grudge against the Sasaki family," she announced reluctantly, as if hoping that it was not the case.

"And if those scums hold a grudge against someone," she continued with a frown on her face, "they will eliminate everyone who're close to that someone. And in this case, it'll be you. You'll most likely be their next target," the Lieutenant explained, looking straight into Sadako's eyes.

"If they want me, then they'll need to try their damn hardest to catch me because I'm not going down without a fight!" Sadako retorted angrily, glaring at the opposite wall with hatred.

Yugito smirked, "Well said. I want you to join us in this investigation if you're up for it, so that they'll know that messing with women is playing with fire!" she extended her hand towards the high school girl, knowing full well that she will accept her task and complete it with perfection.

Sadako looked around the room and all the police officers threw her an encouraging look, even Takasato. She glanced at him in surprise, it seemed that she was mistaken about him, and a lot of other things...

She inhaled and exhaled, trying to get rid of her nervousness and looked at the Lieutenant straight in the eyes with a determined face.

"Of course I'm up for it, I'll do my very best!" Sadako announced, taking Yugito's outstretched hand and standing up beside her.

Yugito smiled down at her and led her out of the hospital room, leading her to an unknown future full of anguish and betrayal. Not knowing what awaited her, Sadako followed the Lieutenant and took her first step into the real world.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you liked it ^^ Let me know in your reviews if I should post the next chapter or not :) Either ways, all my chapters are written and ready to be published. For those of who are waiting for Izaya to appear, he'll be in the next chapter.**

 **Edit 07/10/15: I just realized that Sadako didn't act like someone who just lost her entire family... So I just changed some paragraphs to make her seem more realistic. And please tell me if there're any mistakes in your reviews! I just constantly seem to find them and it's just bugging me out... ^^"**


	2. New Friends and Painful Losses

**A/N: Here's the new chapter ^^ I hope you'll enjoy it!**

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

The large room was only illuminated by the setting sun. It was equipped with expensive furniture, a big TV screen was off to the right side of the room, surrounded by comfortable looking couches. On the left side, a set of stairs led to the second floor which was like an interior balcony, full of book shelves. And in the far back of the room, light penetrated through the typical office shutters bathing the desk in its crimson glow. On the polished desk, there were two computer screens and a brand new keyboard.

A figure stepped out of the corner of the room holding a thick folder and set it on the desk. It was a young man wearing a simple and comfortable black jacket with beige colored fur aligning the edges.

He dropped onto his chair behind the desk and spun around, smiling broadly to himself.

"Hey, Namie-san!" he called out towards the bookshelves in a sing song voice, "Do you think that the fire that spread in the Sakaki household was just an accident or," he paused for a second and a full blown grin stretched out on his face, "do you think it was caused by some group of people?"

The silhouette of an attractive woman stepped out of the shadows and stopped just on top of the stairs. She stared down at the man and answered coldly. "If you already know the answer, then don't pester someone else for it. After all, you are the expert here."

"Namie-san, that was cold of you! I was just asking a question..." he retorted with the same smirk in place. "And thanks for the complement!" he added cheerfully.

The women descended the stairs and placed a manila envelope in front of the grinning young man.

"It's all done the way you wanted it to be," she said curtly, frowning when he started to spin his chair again.

He took the envelope while typing away on his keyboard with one hand with such speed that it was almost a blur. He glimpsed inside it and hummed in satisfaction, content with the work.

"Completed with perfection as always. But I wonder... what amount of work would be enough to strip away that perfection?" he asked slyly, stopping his typing and looking straight into her eyes.

She stared right back at him without wavering, her coldness becoming even more obvious by each passing second. Night already fell, the room was engulfed into darkness except for the small rays of light coming through the window.

"Just kidding. Even if I did give you an unending amount of work, you'll still complete all of it. And what's the fun of it if I get bored of doing nothing?" he replied back, already losing interest in the subject.

He resumed typing for a few more minutes and stopped, spinning his chair yet again. "I wonder if it'll be worth my time involving myself in this troublesome stuff. Oh well, I started this in the first place, no use crying over spilt milk."

"It'll be entertaining to see you cry over spilt milk," Namie added bluntly, flipping through a file on the couch, already having turned on the light.

The young man ignored what she said, preferring to look out into the night city through the little peak in the shutters. One moment, he was contemplating the beautiful scenery and the next, he was smirking in a sadistic way.

"What will you do now? What kind of entertainment will you bring me, Sasaki Sadako?"

* * *

"Do you think they'll be alright? Won't it be dangerous just for the two of them to go?" Sadako asked in a desperate voice, trying to keep up with Yoshiko's long strides.

"Don't be stubborn, it's already decided. The Sakaki siblings will take care of this one, please don't underestimate them just because they're young," the Sergeant turned her head towards the young girl, smiling down at her gently.

"But..." Sadako said hesitantly.

"No buts. That was the final decision, and Lieutenant knows what she's doing." Yoshiko stopped in her tracks and waited for the high school student to catch up to her.

Sadako looked up at the Sergeant with a worried face, fearing for the two siblings. After all they were going directly into enemy's territory, without knowing anything at all which was pretty much suicide. She came to know them during the few days they were together, each day being a new experience for her. They taught her a lot of things about police life, the things she can do and not do, what was right and what was wrong...

In the end, the young girl became quite attached to them even though she promised herself to not get too close to anyone. She was scared for them, scared about what will happen to them if she couldn't change Lieutenant's decision.

Yoshiko's heart clenched when she looked at the young high school student. She would also have preferred if someone else took on this mission but she knew that it was impossible. Captain did all he could to at least allow a group of police officers to look into this case and six competent officers was all he could get.

Yoshiko took Sadako into her arms and stayed like that for a few minutes, giving her the comfort that she needed.

The Sergeant drew back and smiled down at her reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll do fine. After all, those siblings work best when they're together." She ruffled Sadako's hair and walked towards the parking area in a slower pace. Sadako followed her without another word, still uneasy about the whole thing.

"Sakura and Kohinata will be home later on after they're done with their preparations." the Sergeant informed Sadako while opening the car door for her. She thanked the older woman and got into the car, a frown still etched on her forehead.

Yoshiko started the engine and drove away from the parking lot surely and swiftly.

Minutes passed by without the two of them speaking. Sadako looked out of the window and stared at the night sky dotted with thousands of sparkling stars. The weather was getting colder as the days passed by, winter was getting near and the timing couldn't be any worse.

The fifteen year old girl sighed and thought back to the early morning when Kohinata and Sakura was given the mission in front of the seven of them. The two of them, Daisuke and herself, objected fervently but with no avail.

But what surprised her most was that the both of them insisted on doing this suicide mission, going into enemy's territory to collect information that wasn't even reliable. She clenched her hands to stop them from trembling, why was she always such a burden? She couldn't help anyone and yet...

 _"This is what we have to do. It's not only for you but for ourselves too. Anyways, Kohinata and I have always dreamed of solving an almost impossible case so don't worry about us and start thinking on what you have to do."_

 _"Onee-san is right! We'll definitely get our hands on their plan! Well, she just needs to record the whole meeting. If she can do that, that is..."_

 _"Of course I'll be able to record it! Just because I'm bad in manipulating all those new and complicating devices doesn't mean that I can't use a simple recorder!"_

Sadako giggled quietly to herself, she really just loved their little sibling quarrel. It was always fun to watch in the sidelines and comment on it with Daisuke.

She glanced up when she felt someone staring at her. Yoshiko was lifting an eyebrow and staring at her in a puzzled way. When the older woman was about to open her mouth, Sadako interrupted.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about some things," Sadako said in an amused voice, staring out the window once again.

"If you're feeling better, then that's great," Yoshiko replied back, relieved to see that she wasn't as upset as earlier.

When the car came to a stop, the high school student slipped on her beige coat and stepped out into the cold night. She bowed and thanked Yoshiko as the window rolled up, stopping the freezing air from entering the car.

As the car drove away, Sadako turned around and walked into a modest apartment where she was living with the Sasaki siblings.

The young girl sighed contently when she was finally inside and away from the freezing cold. She hung her coat on the coat rack and entered the bathroom to get a long hot bath.

She stepped into her bedroom after half an hour of dipping herself in hot water. She dried the excessive water in her hair and brushed it until it became soft.

Sadako sighed once again, tired from all the ordeal, and let herself fall on the bed. She stared at the ceiling silently and closed her eyes, letting herself drift into the world of dreams.

* * *

"Wake up sleepy head! It's morning already!"

At the same time, the curtains were thrown open, letting the morning light filter through the window. The comforter covering the young girl was hurled aside, giving her shivers with the loss of warmth.

"Kohinata-san... please give me back the blanket..." Sadako groaned out while curling into a ball, trying to keep herself warm.

"Nah, it's time to wake up! And didn't you say that you wanted learn how to ride a motorcycle?" Kohinata asked mischievously and waited for her to bolt out of the bed and into the bathroom to get changed.

Sadako did just what Kohinata thought. She bolted out of the bed, not caring if the tile floor was freezing cold, took a set of clothes without thinking at all, and ran right into the bathroom to get changed.

Kohinata chuckled at how predictable Sadako could be sometimes, just like an innocent little child. But then, he frowned at what his sister and himself had to do. The mission was basically suicide and the probability of getting out unscathed was near zero percent or most likely impossible.

It was the least they could do for Lieutenant and of course, Sadako. By completing this task, the Operation Hiroshima will be underway. But if the information they collected weren't enough, it would put all the operation on hold until things have calmed down which will be probably too late to catch the one behind the Sasaki massacre.

He sighed bitterly, the only thing he could do for Sadako was to draw her out of her shell, trying to make her open up to the world, and show her that everything wasn't lost. But he knew that they will end up hurting her, adding another deep wound in her heart.

Kohinata collapsed on the bed and threw his arm over his eyes. He really should have slept the previous night, but with all the things going on, the last thing in his mind was sleeping. He let out a muffled yawn and slipped off into darkness.

Sadako doused herself in cold water, not even waiting for it to get warmer, and showered as fast as she could. When she was done, she stepped out from underneath the shower head and dried herself in a hurry.

She threw on her clothes and slammed opened the door, rushing to the living room to find Sakura who should be waiting for her.

"You're finally here. I thought you forgot." Sakura drawled out lazily and turned off the television. She got up and stretched, unwinding her camped up muscles.

"Of c-course not..." the younger girl stammered and blushed, scratching her head sheepishly.

"Yeah, right. I sent Kohinata to wake you up you know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, changing her weight to the other leg. "And what are you wearing?"

Sadako blinked and looked down on herself, she was sure that she grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of jeans... She flushed to the root of her hair when she realized what she was wearing and sprinted back to the guest bedroom to change into a more appropriate and warmer shirt.

When Sadako entered the room, she was surprised to find the door open and even more so when she found Kohinata curled into a ball on the bed. The young girl smiled to herself and pulled the comforter over his body.

She then opened the closet quietly and picked out a warmer and thicker shirt, being careful not to make the same mistake. She glanced one last look at the sleeping young man and joined Sakura in front of the apartment door, all ready to go.

* * *

Light filtered into the dark office, casting white spots here and there, doing almost nothing to illuminate the room nor to alleviate the gloomy atmosphere.

One woman stood beside the window, leaning against the wall and the other was sitting on the office chair looking through paperwork. Silence reigned the room for a long time, neither of them looking at the other. The woman leaning against the wall sighed and opened the office shutters and let the morning sunshine light up the room.

The one who was sitting frowned and squinted her eyes, the excess of light blinding her temporarily.

"Yoshiko... you should have warned me when you were about to open the shutters," the woman wearing glasses murmured disapprovingly, already in a bad mood because of all the stress she was getting lately.

Yoshiko sighed once again and replied back quietly. "Reading something in the dark is not good for your eyes, Yugito."

"As if staying up late is any good for your health," Yugito retorted dryly, still reading and tidying up the papers.

The Sergeant chuckled without humor, "You got me. But with all those works needing to be done, it's quite hard to sleep early."

Yugito tucked away the papers into different folders and stacked them up neatly besides her. She then stood up and walked towards the window, stopping besides Yoshiko.

"Then work regularly everyday early in the morning, until you've finished all of the work assigned to you." the Lieutenant replied back and opened the window, letting in the cold morning air.

"I can't work that much unlike you, you who entered the police and rose very quickly in ranks because of all your hard work and intelligence beyond normal people." Yoshiko stated dryly, staring at a stain on the wall where Yugito threw a cup of coffee.

She remembered that it was when things were not going too well, if at all, during the time when Captain Takashima was in the USA and asked Lieutenant Hayate to replace him temporarily. A serious case was going on then, almost breaking Yugito apart from the stress. And when Captain came back, he rescued Lieutenant from evil like a Knight in a shining armor. How romantic... Well their love story did go well as they were husband and wife now.

Yugito pretended that she did not hear what Yoshiko said, she didn't like it too much when people gossiped about her being way more intelligent than normal people.

"But besides that, the Yellow Scarves are becoming quite problematic lately, there're rumors about illegal drug trafficking between them and Takame." the Sergeant said nonchalantly and picked at her nails. "We should have that looked into." she added without even facing the Lieutenant.

"Daisuke should be looking into it right now. He's also taking care of the matter concerning the Blue Squares too. Must be annoying for him, he always hated gangs after all," Yugito replied back with the same uncaring tone.

Silence descended upon them once again, neither of them doing anything to break it. Yoshiko straightened up and was going to leave the room when Yugito spoke up.

"Didn't you have something else to ask me? Something about the Sakaki siblings, is it not?" Yugito asked her, leaning against the window sill.

"Correct as always, Lieutenant." Yoshiko smiled and picked up a flower in a vase on the table.

"Get on with it," the Lieutenant glared at her, her patience running thin. "And put that flower back in the vase." she added as an afterthought.

"Yes ma'am, as you wish," the Sergeant replied back sarcastically and placed the flower back to where it belonged. Her sarcasm completely disappeared and was replaced by weariness when she started to talk.

"Why them...?" she asked sadly, already mourning for two young souls that will be lost later this evening. Her posture screamed of exhaustion, her shoulders were slumped and she leaned heavily on the wall.

"You already asked me that question... and you do know that there wasn't any other choices with the limited amount of officers Captain could get us." Yugito whispered quietly, her anguished voice betraying her emotionless face. Even though she faced countless agonizing losses in the past, it didn't make it easier for her to stand back and let two officers walk to their death.

"Let's just hope that they will come back unscathed, hope that they will return to us and greet us while bickering with each other like normal times."

But they both knew that their wish would not be granted.

The both of them stared out the window and watched as the sun rose into the air, hearts heavy with sadness, having to lose two of their comrades.

* * *

"You'll be back, right?" Sadako asked quietly, her eyes downcast.

"We can't promise you that, and you know it." Sakura replied with a tender smile and hugged Sadako tightly.

"Don't be that gloomy! We'll make sure to record everything, so don't worry about not being able to continue this operation. There's no way we'll accept failure anyways!" Kohinata grinned down at her and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"It's a promise?" Sadako demanded unsurely, still clinging to Sakura's jacket.

"Of course, Sadako-chan..." The taller woman answered and gently removed herself from Sadako, while giving a glance to Kohinata.

"We have to go, we don't want to be late and raise suspicion, do we?" he asked, his eyes shining with amusement.

Sadako nodded and stepped back reluctantly, still refusing to look at them in the eyes. Sakura sighed and pecked the young girl's forehead, smoothing her hair away.

"Stay here until we come back or if Yoshiko-san comes here to pick you up." Sakura reminded her again and opened the door to leave.

"See ya, Sadako-chan!" Kohinata winked at her and exited the apartment, determined to fulfill the mission with perfection.

"Bye, and have a good night." Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be resigned, accepting fully the consequences that came with the mission.

But Sadako knew better, the older of the Sasaki siblings was definitely determined as much as her younger brother maybe even more so.

Sakura stopped by the door frame and turned her head back to look at Sadako for one last time. She gave the younger girl one last sad look and followed after her brother, her yellow scarf fluttering in the wind.

When the door closed, Sadako's facade fell away and she rushed into the guest bedroom to prepare herself. She sighed in relief, it seemed that they didn't see through her poor act. The last time she put one up was years ago when she didn't want to go to school...

Even though she knew that following them wasn't going to change much, she still didn't want to wait until it was all over. She threw on a black impermeable jacket and brown flexible trousers to protect her from the icy wind. Sadako took a small key hidden under the sofa and took the black helmet that was placed on a small table beside the entrance.

She then headed for the underground parking lot quietly, putting on the helmet before she crossed any surveillance camera as it was illegal for a fifteen year old girl to ride a motorbike... Well, when Sakura taught her how to ride it, she promised not to use it until her birthday passed and got the license. But there were always exceptions like this time...

When she was in front of the motorbike, she gazed at it in admiration. It was sleek and black, and the metal was of the highest quality as well as the paint. Sakura told her this morning that this bike was one of the fastest in Ikebukuro as well as the most hardest to handle.

But it was a good thing that she was a fast-learner, or else she would never been able to learn how to ride a motorbike in time. She exhaled nervously and got on the bike, once she was comfortable enough, she inserted they key and started the engine.

The motorbike purred back to life and shuddered softly. Sadako smiled in relief and sped out the parking lot, and into the cold night.

Sadako took a left turn and raced down the road, avoiding the main highway in fear of running into a police officer or being stuck in a traffic jam. She looked at the time and nearly had a heart attack, it was already midnight! The meeting should have started already and she was no way near that place!

Adrenaline coursed through her, making her head fuzzy. She panicked and started to tremble, her vision blurred and fear gripped at her heart.

 _Calm down you idiot!_

Just then, a figure jumped out of the shadows and right into her path. She choked on a scream, and veered quickly to the right, the tires screeching in protest as the bike spun on itself, missing the person by a hair's-breadth.

Sadako removed her helmet shakily and was about to yell at the person who almost killed her, when the person's face stopped her. The helmet fell out of her grip and she stared at the person in surprise.

"Daisuke-san...?"

The said man took a step forward and picked up the helmet for her, "You shouldn't go around dropping this, it looks pretty expensive. Sakura would be mad if you broke her favorite helmet," Daisuke said blandly, as if he didn't just step into a motorbike's path charging with a speed of sixty kilometers per hour.

He whistled loudly, impressed with how Sadako was able to dodge him with such a short reaction time. "You should definitely enter a race after all this ordeal." But there wasn't a trace of humor in his voice.

The young girl burned with anger, suppressing the urge to lash out at him. Daisuke was an adult after all and she, just a little nobody girl sticking her nose into a business where a child like her shouldn't be meddling.

"Take me with you, I know the exact location so you don't need to lose your time searching aimlessly in the dark." Daisuke demanded anxiously, he too was worried about Sakura and Kohinata.

"Then please do drive. It would be better if an adult was seen driving this motorbike rather than someone clad in black and with a small frame which will be definitely suspicious." Sadako scooted backward on her seat and motioned in front of her.

Silence descended upon them, making the young girl anxious with each passing second.

"Well?" she asked, her patience running extremely thin.

Daisuke then scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I don't know how to drive one. But at least I brought a helmet with me." At that, he showed her the object in his left hand.

Sadako sighed and returned back to the front of the seat, motioning for him to get on. She then asked with a serious voice, "Where is the warehouse? I was pretty sure it was somewhere around here..."

Daisuke chuckled and explained where it was and what to avoid if they didn't want to get caught. After she listened to his short explanation carefully, she sped towards the destination.

* * *

When they arrived, the splash water of assaulted their ears. The meeting place was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse near Ara river. They both got down the motorbike and observed the area prudently. Sadako searched for a place to hide the bike and as there wasn't a source of light near them, it was difficult to move around.

She decided to hide it underneath a black plastic and joined Daisuke behind a high stack of rusted metal beams. He motioned for her to go on his right side and with his back to the metal beams, he peaked out to the left, where the warehouse was situated.

Just then, a loud ruckus resounded through the entire area. Sadako jumped in surprise and bumped into Daisuke who was stiff as a wooden board. They heard furious screams and shouts, crashes and booms echoing in the night air.

When she located the origin of the voices, color drained from her face and cold fear gripped her heart.

 _Sakura-san! Kohinata-san!_

Before Daisuke could even act, Sadako rushed towards the warehouse without thinking. She was just before the large metal double doors when they banged opened with a resounding crash. The young girl jumped to the side and rolled across the ground just in time to dodge a flying metal pole.

She gaped at it with wide eyes as it traced wide arcs in the air and fell down ten meters away from her. She snapped her head towards the entrance as a crowd of people wearing yellow scarves dashed out of the warehouse, seeming to try to locate someone.

Sadako stumbled and tripped, trying to hide behind a small bush in haste. She peaked through the leaves and scrutinized the scene, her heart racing a mile per second. She had a hard time to quiet down her breathing as she wasn't at all used to exerting so much physical effort.

The young girl muffled a scream with her hand when a broken window frame flew past her above her head, scaring her to death. She inhaled a shaky breath as tears prickled her eyes unintentionally, she had always hated how her body reacted so quickly to fear, and how she shook and trembled in fright way too quickly even if she could resist mentally.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of long black hair pulled up in a ponytail and right then she knew immediately that it was Sakura running as fast as she could, dodging the crowd gracefully.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, a large hand covered her mouth to stop her from screaming. The man, guessing from his strength, dragged her beside the warehouse and when she was about to chomp down on his hand, a familiar voice stopped her.

"Would you please stop struggling? Someone will find us if you make too much noise."

The young man released her slowly. It was Takasato Kaname, the cold man with few words. She didn't see him lately because she almost always didn't linger around after their daily meeting and Kaname always came back later in the night doing tasks that only he and Lieutenant knew about.

Maybe this was one of his numerous mission, spying the meeting alongside the Sasaki siblings and giving them aid when they were in a pinch.

As if reading her mind, Kaname replied, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not here to meddle with anything. My mission only entailed to observe the meeting, whether it be good or bad."

Sadako was stunned, it didn't make sense to her at all. Sakura and Kohinata were in danger and yet, this man refused to help them just because it wasn't entailed in his mission?!

When he did nothing but stand there, staring at the night sky as if nothing was wrong, Sadako finally snapped.

She grabbed his jacket and shoved him right into the wall, refusing to let go even if her hands hurt at the strain. She wheezed heavily and blinked away the sweat that rolled over her eye, she saw the surprise on his face but it was quickly erased a second later.

"What in the world is wrong with you? People are going to _die_ tonight and yet you're saying that you don't care?" Sadako hissed at him, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"I'm just following the rule that Lieutenant Yugito placed for me, to not do anything that wasn't written on the mission file," Kaname stated, staring down at the younger girl with a cold gaze.

Sadako chuckled without a speck of humor. "Hey did you know? _Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash._ I can't actually believe that an Anime character is smarter than a real person. _"_ She retorted and stared up at him with an equally freezing glare.

Sadako let go of the older man and turned on her heels, determined to follow Sakura. Before she departed, she gave Kaname one last word.

"If they die tonight, and you did nothing to help them escape, I'll blame you for the entirety of my life."

Without any further ado, she ran towards where the motorbike was, not even giving a backward glance. If she did, she would have seen the barely concealed pain on the young Corporal's face.

* * *

When she arrived at the place Daisuke had been hiding, he was not there. She searched the area anxiously but could not find him. Inhaling and exhaling, she tried to calm down and slow her heartbeat.

The sound of quickly approaching footsteps drew her attention to the right, and there was Daisuke running towards her. He dashed towards the hidden motorbike and threw away the black plastic cover to reveal it.

"Hurry up! We don't have time to waste, we need to follow Sakura!" Daisuke yelled frantically at her and put on his helmet in haste while riding the bike.

Sadako mirrored his move and started the engine, awaiting his instructions.

"Towards Russia Sushi!"

After Daisuke's arms were securely around her waist, Sadako sped towards the said restaurant. Buildings and houses alike sped past her as she drove the bike to its maximum speed.

The icy wind whipped at her and adrenaline coursed through her body once again. She swiftly turned left and right, riding the bike was so natural now that it surprised her.

She veered to the left and went through a narrow alley between two tall grey buildings, because it was a shortcut, and as she neared the exit, a white truck sped past her with such speed that she had to turn her head to the side in fear of receiving the wind right in the face.

"Sakura's in that truck!" Daisuke yelled out loud enough so that she could hear him. With that being said, she flew down the road to pursue the truck.

One moment, the truck was a hundred meters ahead of them and the next, it swerved to the right crashing down on the asphalt and spun a few times so violently that it provoked dangerous sparks.

Sadako screeched to a stop before the truck, her body gone numb with stupor and terror. She noted unconsciously that they were beside a park and that there was no one in the near vicinity which could be better for their situation.

Daisuke on the other hand got off the bike and rushed towards the truck, he jumped on top of the left side and threw open the door with a surprising force. He then took out his phone and dialed the police number, glancing down at Sakura with a worried frown etched on his face. He then reached into the truck and took out a small black object, the recorder.

"Go after Kohinata, Sadako! Some of the men are pursuing him and he's headed for the police station! Intercept his path and make sure that he's safe!"

Without waiting for another word, Sadako rushed towards her destination with full speed. From the corner of her eye, she saw a young man clad in a simple black jacket approaching them but she was sure that Daisuke could handle himself.

Once again, she veered left and right, stopping only if a car was blocking her way and made use of the shortcuts. Just then, she saw a black motorbike heading towards her in the distance. She squinted her eyes and tried to see the figure more clearly. It was that of a young man and he was somewhat familiar... And then she realized it.

 _Kohinata-san!_

But it was too late. Everything seemed to slow down for her. Kohinata brought something out of his pocket and slammed it into her breast-pocket. Her eyes widened as she turned her head backward and watched as a bullet pierced through Kohinata's left shoulder. He then turned his head and looked straight into her eyes, seeming to say that it was alright, that this tragedy wasn't her fault.

Then everything resumed its normal pace. Kohinata's motorbike swung to the left violently and crashed into a building with such speed that it provoked an enormous explosion.

Sadako tried to slow down her motorbike but with the explosion and the shock of seeing a friend die in front of her eyes, she failed. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell unconscious and the last thing she remembered were strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her up before she cracked her head on the hard road.

During that time, she could only see Kohinata's bittersweet smile.

* * *

Sadako slowly drifted to consciousness and opened her eyes. She saw white. She closed them again and wondered just how many times she would end up in a hospital room in the near future. When she sighed, the noise in the room died out as if she turned off a switch.

Sadako glanced at Daisuke who stood at the center of the room and asked a question that made all the occupants of the room stiffen.

"Is Sakura alright?"

When the young tired girl saw the agonized look on his face, she knew that he was not able to protect the older of the Sakaki siblings.

Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes. Even though she tried her best that night, even though she swore that she would not let her precious people die again, she let two of them leave her life. And it was all her fault. If she tried harder to stop them or change Lieutenant's mind, they would probably be still alive and standing by her side at this moment.

"Get out... Get out!" Sadako yelled out at all the people in the room, refusing to look at them as she hid her tear stained face with her arm.

Daisuke left the room with his head hanging, ashamed and angry at himself for not being able to protect a woman. The Lieutenant then followed him and soon Kaname stepped out of the room.

Only Yoshiko stayed back with a worried frown on her face. She stayed back a few steps from the younger girl and waited for her to speak.

"Please... leave me alone... for now..." Sadako hiccupped in agony, trying to stop her tears with her arm.

"No. I'll stay here until you feel better," Yoshiko replied back with a firm tone, refusing to leave the girl to wallow in her sadness alone.

Sadako turned her back to the motherly Sergeant and covered her face with the white blanket already stained with her tears.

Yoshiko approached the girl and gently sat down on the bed. She then reached out with her deformed arm and patted the girl's head.

"It's okay to cry. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It just shows us that we are humans who feel emotions," Yoshiko murmured softly, combing Sadako's hair soothingly with her fingers.

The young girl with a bleeding heart curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep for the first time in a long time.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't forget to review if you've liked it! Review is LIFE! xD And tons of thanks to asura for being the first reviewer of this little story of mine! You've brightened up my day! ~ ^^**


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